You might think of estate planning as something that is necessary only for the wealthy, but the truth is that everyone needs some amount of estate planning. Even a person who owns no property should still designate someone to make health care decisions and personal decisions for him if he is ever unable to do so for himself, and appointing that person is a form of estate planning. People who own a great deal of property need more complex estate planning. Estate planning is a lot more than just deciding who will get your stuff when you die. For example, did you know that estate planning can also be used to avoid paying unnecessary taxes during your lifetime? If you’re interested in learning about this, you should consult with an estate planning attorney, who can explain the many advantages of estate planning to you.

If you’re going to make an appointment to consult with an estate planning attorney, make it at least two or three weeks away, because you will need time to gather documentation to take with you. Make sure to gather as many documents as you can in advance and to take all of those documents with you to your appointment. When it comes to documentation, more is better for your first appointment with your attorney. Your attorney can sort through the documents quickly and find the ones he or she needs to use, but she can’t do that if you didn’t bring them with you. At a minimum, you should bring the following documents to your first consultation:

• A list with the names, addresses, birthdates and social security numbers of you; your spouse; all of your children, whether minors or adults, whether living or dead ( and whether or not you plan to give them anything!); and any person with whom you co-own any kind of property, whether it’s real estate, a bank account, or a business.
• A list of all real estate you own, or real estate that you have sold within the past three years; copies of all deeds that you have for those properties; and copies of all mortgages that you have for those properties.
• A list of all bank accounts that you own, or that your spouse owns, or that is in the names of any of your minor children, and the most recent bank statement for each of those accounts.
• A list of all vehicles you own; copies of the titles to those vehicles; and copies of loan documents relating to those vehicles.
• Any life insurance policies that you may own.
• A list of any retirement accounts that you have, along with a statement of the current value of the account (you may need to request a statement well in advance).
• A list of any investments you have, outside of retirement accounts (Ex. Stocks, bonds)
• A list of any businesses in which you have an ownership interest.
• A list of significant items of personal property that you own, the values for each one, any ownership documents that go along with those things, and any documentation evidencing the values of those things (Ex. Boats, heavy equipment or other machinery, jewelry, paintings or other objects of art, etc.)
• A list of people or entities who owe you money and the amounts owed (Ex. Tax refunds owed to you; money that you have inherited from someone else; loans that you have made to others).
• A list of all of your debts, and all paperwork that you have evidencing those debts.

Print this article, and use it as a checklist when gathering documentation to take to your first appointment with your estate planning attorney. Remember, if you’re not sure whether you should list something, list it! If you’re not sure whether you should bring a document, bring it! If your lawyer doesn’t need it, he doesn’t have to copy it. By taking the time to carefully gather everything well in advance, you not only make it possible for your attorney to give you the best advice at your first appointment, but you also save on the legal fees you would pay if your attorney had to chase down all that information, leaving more estate for those who matter most to you.